In this series, we ask comedians to name the comedians they enjoy. Then we ask those people, too. Last week, Randall Park chose Hari Kondabolu. Below, Kondabolu talks about W. Kamau Bell, whose FX show Totally Biased Kondabolu writes for.

Obviously, W. Kamau Bell is my boss. But he's changed my life and somebody who I greatly look up to. I came out of Seattle. It was kind of strange to do the kind of comedy I do, to kick people who have power and be funny about that. My friend Nato Green set up a tour in 2008 because he wanted me to meet Kamau. Instantly, it was like, this is somebody who has the same philosophy I do. Kamau believes in this idea that to fight racism, you can't be sexist, you know? These things don't need to be pit against each other. You can fight them all at once, and push things forward.

Kamau stayed in San Francisco for the vast majority of his career. He got a TV show out of San Francisco, and that never happens. You move to L.A., you move to New York, you pay your dues there. That's not what Kamau wanted to do. He wanted to stay in San Francisco until he developed his voice, until he figured what it was he wanted to say, and that's an incredible thing. At a certain point, he just got sick of going to club after club. And he started a solo performance class. He wasn't even performing. He was teaching. He built this community of people who aren't just fans, but who love him because of what he's done for them and how he's contributed to their lives and brought their voices out, and that's so rare.

That's a big part of who Kamau is. He's always been this way, and the TV show echoes that. He's a new talent to a lot of people, a new voice. He gets this TV show, and what does he do? He brings on Dwayne Kennedy and has him do a piece. He has me do a piece. He knows, There are certain things I can say, but there are things that others can say better, and why wouldn't I showcase people who don't normally get to be on TV and share their story? He's proud for being the one to bring these voices out there.

It's amazing to me that a person who was discovered out of San Francisco, who has a certain set of values, comes to New York, with Chris Rock discovering him, and keeps those values. That's amazing.